April 19, 2024

The Senate spent most of the week in chamber working its way through the calendar in preparation of the full Senate debate on the budget bill (H. 5100) and Capital Reserve Fund (H. 5101) next week. The House spent time in subcommittees debating several Senate bills received prior to last week’s crossover deadline.

Titling of Boats and Motors — S. 1114. This legislation would remove the statutory requirement that outboard motors must be titled by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and would exempt outboard motors from individual taxation. This could potentially cost counties revenue, as the motor of a boat costs as much or is more expensive than the boat itself and could be purchased aftermarket or transferred between watercrafts without the county’s awareness. As introduced, this bill required that if a boat or watercraft is principally located in a county different than the owner’s county of residence, the property tax return must be made to the auditor of the county where the boat or watercraft is principally located. This would result in shifting of revenues among counties and would likely lead to forum shopping by boat owners. SCAC staff, along with Union County Auditor Brad Valentine and Charleston County Auditor Peter Tecklenburg, testified at subcommittee in opposition to the bill as drafted by expressing concerns over the fiscal impact it would have on counties. 

Since the subcommittee meeting, SCAC staff, with the assistance of county auditors, has worked with the South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance and DNR on a compromise amendment. While the compromise amendment does remove the titling of outboard motors, it also does the following:

• Requires boat owners to register boats and outboard motors with DNR within 30 days of purchase or transfer;
• Requires DNR to maintain a record of all registrations;
• The registration must include:
• Date issued;
• Name and address of the owner;
• Names and addresses of any lienholders;
• Title number assigned to the watercraft;
• A description of the watercraft or outboard motor including its make, model, or year of manufacture; horsepower; registration number; manufacturer’s serial number or hull number assigned to the watercraft by DNR; length; and the principal material used in construction; and
• any other data DNR prescribes.
• Requires DNR to notify the county when a boat or outboard motor is registered for the first time or is transferred;
• Requires the county auditor to issue one tax bill for the boat which encompasses the value of the boat and any outboard motor(s);
• Creates a study committee (including two members appointed by SCAC) to study and determine in which county the tax return for a boat or watercraft should be filed and to report back to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2025; and
• Makes July 1, 2026, the effective date for the taxation part of the bill.

The Senate Finance Committee adopted the compromise amendment Tuesday and gave S. 1114 a favorable report, as amended. The bill is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.

Ambulance Assessment Fees — H. 4113. This bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to charge every ambulance service a uniform ambulance assessment fee. County fire, police, and emergency medical services are exempt from the fee. This fee shall be updated at least annually, and there may be a penalty imposed of up to 5% for failure to pay. The bill also establishes the Ambulance Fee Trust Fund in the State Treasurer’s Office. A Senate Medical Affairs Committee gave H.4113 a favorable report, and the bill is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.

Conformity — H. 4594. This legislation would update the conformity of the state tax law to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) through 2023, including any expired provisions of the federal code that are extended, but not otherwise amended, by congressional enactment during 2024. The bill would also ensure that any extensions of the IRC sections apply to South Carolina for income tax purposes. The Senate Finance Committee gave H. 4594 a favorable report, and the bill is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.

Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit — S. 1021. This bill would increase the tax credit for abandoned buildings from $500,000 to $700,000 in a tax year and extends the program through 2035. A House Ways and Means subcommittee amended the bill to add the contents of H. 3737, a bill to create a new income tax credit for Class II and Class III railroads based on qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures, and gave the bill a favorable report, as amended. S. 1021 will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Income Tax Deductions for Firefighters/Law Enforcement — S. 969. This bill increases the individual income tax subsistence allowance deduction for law enforcement officers and full-time firefighters and EMS personnel from $8 to $16 per day beginning in tax year 2024. The bill also increases the maximum deduction for volunteer firefighters, rescue squad members, hazardous materials response team members, reserve police officers, DNR deputy enforcement officers, members of the State Guard, and volunteer state constables who meet the volunteer activity requirements as specified in the statute from $3,000 to $6,000. The allowable deduction per taxpayer must be certified by Revenue and Fiscal Affairs annually such that the total revenue loss does not exceed an aggregate limit of $3.1 million per year in total, which remains unchanged. A House Ways and Means subcommittee amended the bill to phase in the tax deduction over four years and gave S. 969 a favorable report, as amended. S. 969 will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Redevelopment Authorities (RDAs): Tax Increment Financing for Affordable Housing — H. 4552. This bill would add certain affordable housing projects to what qualifies as a redevelopment project for federal military installations. It includes an affordable housing project (defined by referencing median income percentages according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) where all or a part of new property tax revenues generated in the tax increment financing district (TIF) are used to provide or support publicly and privately owned affordable housing in the district or are used to provide infrastructure projects to support affordable housing. The bill also extends the bonding period for redevelopment projects from 15 years to 30 years and allows municipalities to spend TIF dollars outside of the RDA for items such as infrastructure support. The Senate amended the effective date of H. 4552 last week. The House further amended the bill to among other things, prohibit a member of an affordable housing limited liability company from competing with the company in the conduct of the company’s business before the dissolution of the company if there is a noncompete clause in the operating agreement. The Senate must now consider the latest House amendments.

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency (C-PACE) – S. 542. As introduced, this bill would enact the “South Carolina Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience Act,” with the purpose of authorizing the establishment of commercial property assessed clean energy and resiliency (C-PACE) programs that local governments may voluntarily implement. The programs would ensure that owners of agricultural, commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential properties can obtain low-cost, long-term financing for qualifying improvements by freely and willingly agreeing to have an assessment levied on their properties.

A House Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee amended the bill this week to remove all references to the term C-PACE and to refer to such programs as “Special Assessment Improvements” (SAI). The amendment further defines the SAI program and outlines the duties and responsibilities of local governments that choose to implement the program through the enactment of an ordinance by their governing body. The subcommittee then gave S. 542 a favorable report, as amended, and the bill will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Pending Gun Charges – S. 1166. This bill was filed in response to the passage of the Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024. The bill would require the state to dismiss all charges pending against a person for unlawful possession of a handgun that were nullified by the enactment of the Constitutional Carry Act. The Senate adopted an amendment to state that the mandate does not apply if the unlawful possession charge was used as probable cause for another offense arising from the same incident. It gave the bill second and third readings and sent the bill to the House.

Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Litigation — S. 845. This bill combined three bills that would amend Section 62-3-108 to allow a probate action to be brought specifically for death-related claims due to exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, regardless of when the decedent died, an SCAC policy position. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave S. 845 a favorable report, and the bill will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Fentanyl Homicide – S. 1. This bill creates the felony offense of fentanyl-induced homicide. A person who unlawfully delivers, dispenses, or otherwise provides fentanyl to a person who dies after injection, inhalation, absorption, or ingestion of any amount of the substance has committed the felony offense of fentanyl-induced homicide. This felony carries a penalty of not more than 30 years. The House Judiciary Criminal Laws subcommittee amended the bill to differentiate between a dealer in fentanyl versus a person sharing fentanyl with another person that results in a death. The subcommittee gave the bill a favorable report as amended. 

Antisemitism — H. 4042. This bill would codify antisemitism as a listed discriminatory act by incorporating definitions and examples from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and prohibiting discriminatory acts relating to antisemitism. The Senate gave H. 4042 second and third readings and sent the bill to the House.

Ten-Year Energy Transformation Act — H. 5118 and S. 909. These bills would enact the “South Carolina Ten-Year Energy Transformation Act” to address the state’s energy needs over the next decade. As passed by the House, H. 5118 prohibited an electric utility from offering a tariff, rider, or rate proposal for a reduced electric rate, or any other form of incentive that would result in a reduced electric rate to a data center until July 1, 2034. SCAC staff was informed this may affect current or future economic development projects throughout South Carolina. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended H. 5118 by, among other things, striking this provision. However, there is another provision in the bill that raises Home Rule concerns for some counties. The provision redefines a major facility to include an electric plant and associated facility that operates at over 75 megawatts, or that requires a footprint of more than 125 acres of land. This means that solar arrays larger than 125 acres coming into a county will now also have to get approval from the Public Service Commission. If you have any concerns about this bill, please contact your senators. 

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee continued debate on S. 909 this week and amended the bill with the language (above) that the Senate Judiciary Committee amended H. 5118 with last week. This means that the prohibition from offering a tariff, rider, or rate proposal for a reduced electric rate provision is not currently in either bill, but the change to the definition of major facility is in both H. 5118 and S. 909.

H. 5118 is pending second reading on the contested Senate calendar and S. 909 remains in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Septic Tank Pilot Program — H. 4486. As passed by the House, this bill would allow the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to create a pilot program in designated areas of the state that would allow septic tank installers to conduct septic tank field evaluation tests for the department. Septic tank installers interested in participating in the pilot program would be required to register with DHEC, to hold a valid license that is deemed to be in good standing, and to receive written approval by the department. A Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee amended the bill to remove certain references to septic tank installers and to require those conducting evaluation tests to be DHEC-certified professional engineers. The Senate Medical Affairs Committee adopted the subcommittee amendment and a technical amendment and gave H. 4486 a favorable report, as amended. H. 4486 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.

Solid Waste Management Regulation (Solar Panels) — Doc. 5191. Pursuant to Act No. 119 of 2022, DHEC was directed to develop rules to guide all South Carolinians investing in, selling, installing, and using photovoltaic (PV) modules and energy storage system batteries in the management of end-of-life PV modules and energy storage system batteries on solar projects, and the decommissioning of solar projects exceeding 13 acres.  

This new regulation (R.61107.20: Solar Energy Systems) establishes registration requirements and provides that all large solar energy systems must have a decommissioning plan. This plan must address the removal of PV modules and accompanying equipment, contain procedures for the remediation of the land, and have a requirement that solar companies provide financial assurances to address the cost of decommissioning before establishing such facilities in a county. This is an SCAC policy position.

Regarding the statewide minimum amount required to satisfy financial assurances, an applicant who wishes to operate a large solar project exceeding 13 acres would need to provide a final decommissioning cost estimate (prepared by a third party) that details the cost of properly disposing of all components of a solar project and performing any required post-closure care. This should account for tipping fees, material loading costs, hauling costs, and labor to complete closure and restore the site to acceptable conditions. Local governments may also establish or retain financial assurance ordinances that are more stringent than the statewide minimum standards. 

The Senate Medical Affairs Committee gave the regulation a favorable report, and the regulation will be on the Senate calendar.

The House Regulations Committee also took up Document 5191 and recommended withdrawing and having DHEC resubmit the regulation to include the number of batteries and solar panels listed on the regulation form.

Firefighter Cancer Healthcare — S. 728. As initially drafted, the bill (a companion bill. H. 4680) would revise the definition of the term “firefighter,” relating to the Firefighter Cancer Health Care Benefit Plan, to provide the term includes certain non-residents of the state. A Senate amendment removed the residency requirement, added South Carolina State Fire for the purpose of fire protection, added a retroactivity provision to apply as of July 1, 2021, and added that the diagnosis must occur within 10 years of employment separation. A House Labor, Commerce, and Industry subcommittee gave S. 728 a favorable report and the bill will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Veterans’ Cemeteries – H. 4953. This bill amends Section 25-11-80 to remove residency requirements for a veteran to qualify for a plot in a state veterans’ cemetery. The Department of Veterans Affairs will no longer be able to waive the residency requirement as it has been eliminated. This means that veterans or their immediate family members only need to qualify for burial at a state veterans’ cemetery with a veterans’ honorable discharge. A Senate Family and Veterans’ Services subcommittee gave the bill a favorable report and H. 4953 should be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Executive Office of Health and Policy — S. 915. A House Judiciary subcommittee struck all of the language in S. 915 and inserted the language from the H. 4927 version of the bill that has already passed the House. This language would create the Executive Office of Health and Policy and require a Secretary to lead the office in developing a comprehensive State Health Plan, among other things, for public health services provided by the component departments housed within the office which include: the Department of Health Financing; the Department of Public Health; the Department of Aging; the Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities; and the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services. The component departments would be headed by a department director appointed by the Secretary with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretary must also develop a budget in coordination with each component department constituting a separate program area. 

The bill would also strike the Departments of Aging, Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, Disabilities and Special Needs, Health and Human Services, Mental Health, and Public Health from the list of departments in the executive branch of state government and add the “State Office of the Secretary of Public Health and Policy.” Additionally, H. 4927 outlines what is to occur to in specific agencies upon the effective date of the act, including who is to serve as interim department directors of their respective departments within the Executive Office of Health and Policy, among other items of business. The South Carolina National Guard may be activated or deployed by an order of the Governor to assist in enforcing any restrictive measures or quarantines ordered under the provisions of the bill. The subcommittee further amended the bill to state that the requirement that sheriffs and constables assist the department during a state of emergency may only be authorized by the Governor. The subcommittee then gave the bill a favorable report, as amended, and S. 915 will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Voter Qualifications — S. 1126. This joint resolution would amend the South Carolina Constitution to clarify that only a citizen of the United States and of South Carolina who is at least 18 and properly registered is entitled to vote. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave S. 1126 a favorable report, and the bill should be on the next full committee’s agenda.

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Note: If you would like to offer comments to the SCAC staff, please call us toll-free at 1-800-922-6081, fax to (803) 252-0379, or send an email.

House Bills

H. 5407 (Reps. Sessions, Guffey, Ligon, Hiott, Pope, Crawford, O'Neal, Lawson, B. L. Cox, Pedalino and Schuessler) – This bill would enact the “South Carolina Student Physical Privacy Act” by adding Article 4 to Chapter 23, Title 59 so as to provide definitions, to provide that every public school restroom and changing facility that is accessible by multiple people must be designated for use only by members of one sex, and to provide civil penalties.

Senate Bills

S. 1264 (Sens. Grooms, McElveen, Goldfinch, Fanning, Young and Matthews) – This joint resolution proposes an amendment to Section 7, Article VI of the Constitution of South Carolina, relating to elective offices, so that the State Treasurer is appointed by the Governor, and proposes an amendment to Section 12, Article IV of the Constitution of South Carolina, relating to disability of the Governor, so that the State Treasurer is removed as an officer who, along with other officers, may cause the Governor to be removed from office.

S. 1265 (Sen. Talley) – This bill would, among other things, add Section 44-53-2000 to provide definitions for “healthcare practitioner” and “non-opioid treatment” for purposes of non-opioid treatments for pain management.

S. 1276 (Sens. McElveen, Shealy and Young) – This joint resolution would suspend the provisions of Act 58 of 2023, relating to the Board of Trustees for the Veterans' Trust Fund of South Carolina, until June 1, 2026.